Peppermint
by Onesimus42
Summary: Companion piece to Chocolate Cake. Elsie has plans for Charles at a certain time of the month. Pure smut and pretty pointless.


_**A little companion M-ness for Chocolate Cake, because I apparently am unable to write anything without a little bit of smut. This has absolutely no point. Just pure smut from start to finish.**_

_**And of course, I don't own these guys, obviously, but they have way more fun in my world than in Fellowes'.**_

Elsie Hughes almost sighed with relief as she walked toward her parlor. She had been waiting for this moment all day. This had been the first thing that she thought about on waking up this morning, and her thoughts had just become more and more preoccupied as the day wore on until she was almost on the point of screaming in frustration. She had done all that she could to make this moment happen as soon as possible. The maids were probably grumbling about how hard they'd worked today in their sleep, but the important thing was that they were all presumably asleep. Smiling to herself, she thought Charles must feel somewhat similar because she noticed that the footmen were all grumbling at dinner about shifting trunks around in the attic all day. They had all gone up to their rooms early as well.

The only person who had not cooperated was the one person she had essentially no control over, Mrs. Patmore. For some strange reason, she had kept Elsie busy long after everyone else had retired to review menus for when the Lord and Lady of the house returned. It took every modicum of composure that Elsie had to not drum her over the head with the menu, tell her to make any bloody sauce for the chicken she wanted, and storm off to her parlor where she was fairly certain Charles was waiting for her. Finally, Mrs. Patmore seemed satisfied and tottered off to bed herself clearing the way for a very pleasant evening as far as Elsie was concerned.

She walked through her door to see Charles head above the armchair and was a little confused when he didn't rise or at least turn around to greet her. Surely he wouldn't be angry, would he? She was confused that is until she heard a fairly loud snore from the direction of the armchair. For heaven's sake, the big oaf had gone to sleep! She hesitated for a moment, but only for a moment. There was no way she was going to give up this easily on what she had planned for this evening. Deciding that her best weapon was surprise, she took a few moments to divest herself of her dress, stockings, shoes, corset, and after a moment's hesitation, her knickers.

Clad only in her very thin shift she walked around to the front of the armchair to see Charles with book spread on his lap, head thrown back, eyes closed, and mouth open slightly. Not his most attractive pose ever, but she didn't mind, and if he left his head in that position for too long, he was certain to have a cramp in his neck. Very carefully, so that she wouldn't wake him, she took the book from him. _**Emma**_! And he scoffed at her for reading romantic novels. She'd have to tweak him about that later, much later. Then, she eased herself into his lap, straddling his thighs with one knee on either side of his hips. Bracing herself with hands on the back of the armchair, she leaned forward to kiss him and was surprised when his arms came around her pulling her tight against his chest as he kissed her hungrily and thoroughly.

She pulled back and looked into his amused eyes, "I thought you were asleep."

"I was, but I heard you taking your clothes off. You shouldn't fuss so much about your corset if you want to surprise someone."

"You could have got up to help," she grumbled with a smile leaning forward to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"I could have," he agreed letting his hands roam over her back and down to her bottom when his eyes widened in pleasure, realizing that she was only wearing her shift, "But I wanted to see what you had in store for me. I've been anticipating this all day."

She leaned forward to kiss him again, "All day?"

"MmmHmm," he agreed working his way down to her neck, "It's the, um, well, the appropriate time of the month. Even though you tried to throw me off with that chocolate cake last month."

She sighed, tilting her head to allow him better access to the soft hollow at the base of her neck, "Mmmm. Sometimes I wish you didn't keep such careful track. Are you eating peppermint?"

"I'm sorry. I must have had one in my mouth when I dosed off. I'll…"

"No!" she said quickly, "It's just that my lips are tingling a little."

"Tingling?" he said pulling back to look at her with interest.

She nodded, "It feels different."

"Hmmm. I wonder…Would you mind?" he asked indicating the bag beside his chair. She looked at him curiously before nodding slowly.

He smiled, putting a peppermint in his mouth and then pulling her shift down to free her breast. Mouth quickly finding her nipple, he ran his tongue over the peak. She felt the usual sensations radiating through her body from her breast, warming her center, but she felt a new sensation as well; a cool, tingling sensation that only served to arouse her further. Murmuring in pleasure, she shifted her hips a little closer to his. She felt his smile against her breast and any other time would have scolded him for his smugness, but this just felt a little bit too good. Running her fingers through his hair she held him tight against her breast. Gathering her thoughts with some effort, she sighed, "Charles, I thought you wanted to see what I had in store for you."

"You're not enjoying this?" he asked, lips against the swell of her breast.

"Of course I am," she smiled against his temple, "I've just been thinking about what I would like to do all day."

"Such as?" he asked as he grasped the edge of her shift to pull it off, mouth quickly finding her other breast.

"Well, I thought I might, ohhh, that feels good. I was going to start with taking off your collar and tie so that I could taste that spot between your neck and collarbone."

He leaned back to allow her access, caressing her bottom and drawing her closer to his groin. Watching his eyes she removed his tie and collar and bent to suckle the edge of his neck. He leaned back a little allowing her free rein and giving himself over to the sensations she was creating in him.

Pulling away after several moments, she whispered against his ear, "Then I thought that I would take off your shirts so that I could run my fingers through the hair on your chest."

She began to work the buttons of his shirt loose and gasped in surprise when she realized that he'd left his undershirt off, looking up at him with appreciation. He smiled, "I thought I'd make things a little easier on you."

"You're getting much too smug," she smiled as she continued to unbutton his shirt.

"We could stop," he suggested then gasped as her fingertips grazed across his nipples.

"We could," she agreed as she let her hand drop to caress his length through his trousers, "but I'd rather not," she added before bending to roll her tongue over his nipple.

"Good," he sighed running his hands up and down her thighs.

After several long moments, she pulled away and raised her head to look in his eyes again, "But mostly I was looking forward to this," she said as she reached between them to work loose the fastenings of his trousers and release him. Sliding her hands around his waist, she pushed his trousers and undershorts down, and he lifted both his hips and her to allow her to slide them down his legs where he kicked them off. Leaning over him with a smile, she withdrew a peppermint from the bag and popped it in her mouth before kneeling before him.

"Elsie, I don't know if…" he started to warn then broke off in a low groan of pleasure as she wrapped her lips around him. Working her tongue around the tip, she drew him as deep into her mouth as possible with her hand wrapped around the base. The sweetness of the peppermint mixed with the taste that she always associated uniquely with him. His moans quickly grew more urgent, and she felt his thighs trembling. Tasting the first salty tang that she knew meant he was about to lose all control, she pulled away and stood, before lowering herself once again onto his lap. This time she grasped him to guide him to her center. All reason abandoned, he grasped her hips and urged her to begin her strokes while he drove his hips upward. She ran her hands under his shirt and around his back simply holding on while he took control. Grasping him while his panting breaths and tempo increased, she raked her nails down his back and cried out in shuddering pleasure of her own. A few short thrusts later, he bit down on her shoulder to muffle his own cries before his hips stilled, and he fell back against the chair in exhaustion.

She lay against his chest, eyes closed in pleasure, listening as his breathing stilled. He held her close, smoothing his hands over her back to soothe her and quiet her trembling muscles.

"Did that live up to your expectations?" she asked after a few more moments.

"More than," he answered, and she could hear the smile in his voice, "I'll never be able to look at a peppermint the same way again."

_**Reviews are welcome.**_


End file.
